Methods for monitoring network link quality in a telecommunications network, in which voice calls are made, are known where Quality of Service (QoS) information for voice calls is generated in order to allow network link quality of the telecommunications network to be analyzed.
US patent application number 2006/0221942 describes identification of potential routes taken by voice calls between terminating devices in a telecommunications network by using a traceroute program to identify the potential routes. The identified potential routes taken by the voice calls can then be combined with QoS information for the voice calls in order to create a characterization of the network elements and/or call routes in the telecommunications network and allow network link quality analysis to be conducted.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,616,579 describes identification of potential routes taken by voice calls between terminating devices in a telecommunications network by using routing table information gathered from the network elements in the telecommunications network. Again, the identified potential routes taken by the voice calls can then be combined with QoS information for the voice calls in order to create a characterization of the network elements and/or call routes in the telecommunications network and allow network link quality analysis to be conducted.
Information relating to potential routes taken by voice calls between terminating devices may not provide the actual route taken by the voice calls. Therefore network link quality analysis conducted using this information may lead to false identification of problematic portions of the telecommunications network and/or omission of actual problematic portions of the telecommunications network.
It would be desirable to provide an improved system and method for monitoring network link quality in a telecommunications network.